Sheet Feeding Apparatus

ABSTRACT

A sheet feeding apparatus includes a first tray, a second tray disposed above the first tray, a feeding portion configured to feed a sheet in a feed direction, and a first wall portion disposed at one end of the second tray in a width direction and fixed relative to the first tray. The first tray has a first end on a side far from the feeding portion. The second tray has, on the side far from the feeding portion, a second end, which is closer to the feeding portion than the first end of the first tray. The first end of the first tray is located above the second end of the second tray. An upper end of the first wall portion is higher than the second tray, and extends from a side closer to the second end of the second tray toward the first end of the first tray.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No.2013-016810, filed on Jan. 31, 2013, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Aspects of the disclosure relate to a sheet feeding apparatus.

BACKGROUND

A known sheet feeding apparatus includes an upper tray and a lower trayarranged vertically. The upper tray includes a pair of partition plates,which are movable with respect to the lower tray in a width direction.The partition plates are integrally formed with document guides,respectively, which prevent a sheet being fed from the lower tray fromskewing.

To prevent skewing of a sheet being fed from the upper tray or the lowertray, it is required to provide a guide member to contact an end of asheet supported in the upper tray or the lower tray in a width directionthereof.

SUMMARY

Illustrative aspects of the disclosure provide a sheet feeding apparatusincluding an upper tray and a lower tray arranged vertically andconfigured to prevent skewing of a sheet supported in the upper tray.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, a sheet feeding apparatusincludes a first tray, a second tray, a feeding portion, and a firstwall portion. The first tray is configured to receive a stack of sheets.The second tray is disposed above the first tray and configured toreceive a stack of sheets. The feeding portion is configured to feed asheet supported in the first tray to the second tray in a feeddirection. The first wall portion is disposed at one end of the secondtray in a width direction perpendicular to the feed direction and fixedrelative to the first tray. The first tray has a first end on a side farfrom the feeding portion. The second tray has a second end on the sidefar from the feeding portion. The second end of the second tray islocated closer to the feeding portion than the first end of the firsttray. The first end of the first tray is located above the second end ofthe second tray. An upper end of the first wall portion is higher thanthe second tray, and extends from a side closer to the second end of thesecond tray toward the first end of the first tray.

This structure allows the first wall portion to function as a guidemember configured to prevent skewing of a sheet supported in the secondtray.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, a sheet feeding apparatusincludes a first tray, a second tray, a feeding portion, and a firstwall portion. The first tray is configured to receive a stack of sheets.The second tray is disposed above the first tray and configured toreceive a stack of sheets. The feeding portion is configured to feed asheet between the first tray and the second tray in a feed direction.The first wall portion is disposed at one end of the second tray in awidth direction perpendicular to the feed direction and fixed relativeto the first tray. The first tray has a first end on a side far from thefeeding portion. The second tray has a second end on the side far fromthe feeding portion. The second end of the second tray is located closerto the feeding portion than the first end of the first tray. The firstend of the first tray is located above the second end of the secondtray. An upper end of the first wall portion is higher than the secondtray, and extends from a side closer to the second end of the secondtray toward the first end of the first tray.

This structure allows the first wall portion to function as a guidemember configured to prevent skewing of a sheet supported in the secondtray.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Illustrative aspects will be described in detail with reference to thefollowing figures in which like elements are labeled with like numbersand in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an illustrative image forming apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus with adocument cover being open according to the embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a feeding portion according to theembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of an image reading apparatusaccording to the embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the mage reading apparatus according to theembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the image reading apparatus taken alongthe arrowed line B-B of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an external perspective view of the image reading apparatusaccording to the embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the image reading apparatus taken alongthe arrowed line A-A of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the image reading apparatus taken alongthe arrowed line C-C of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is directed to an illustrative embodiment ofthe disclosure. The scope of the disclosure, including the claims, isnot limited to the embodiment. An image forming apparatus to which asheet feeding apparatus according to illustrative aspects of thedisclosure is applied will be described with reference to accompanyingdrawings.

Arrows indicating directions in each drawing are indicated to facilitatethe understanding of positional relationships among components. Forportions or components with numerals, at least one is provided unless“plural” or “two or more” is specifically stated otherwise.

As shown in FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 100 includes an imagereading apparatus 1 and an image forming portion 50 The image formingportion 50 is accommodated in a casing 53. An upper portion of thecasing 53 contains a joint cover 53A connecting the image readingapparatus 1 and the image forming portion 50 via a space 53B.

The image forming portion 50 is configured to form an image on a sheet.The sheet having the image formed at the image forming portion 50 isejected through the space 53B onto an ejection tray 55 disposed on anupper surface of the casing 53. The image forming portion 50 is of anelectrophotographic type configured to form an image directly on a sheetby transferring a developer agent to the sheet.

The image reading apparatus 1 combines a document feeder readingfunction and a stationary document reading function. The document feederreading function refers to a function to read a document being fed. Thestationary document reading function refers to a function to read adocument supported on a supporting surface 3A of a document table 3shown in FIG. 2.

The supporting surface 3A of the document table 3 contains a firstreading window 3B closed by a transparent platen made of such as a clearglass or clear acrylic board. A document cover 5 is attached to thedocument table 3 via hinge mechanisms 5A and 5B.

The hinge mechanisms 5A and 5B are fixed to the document table 3 usingscrews 5C. The document cover 5 is movable between a covering positionshown in FIG. 1 where the document cover 5 covers the document table 3and a position shown in FIG. 2 where the document cover 5 is spacedapart from the document table 3. The document cover 5 includes a firstdocument presser 5D. The first document presser 5D faces the firstreading window 3B when the document cover 5 covers the document table 3.When the stationary reading function is used, a user opens the documentcover 5 upward and places a document to be read on the supportingsurface 3A.

An image sensor 7 is disposed under the supporting surface 3A andconfigured to move along the supporting surface 3A. The image sensor 7is configured to receive light projected to and then reflected from thedocument and emit electrical signals based on the light. While thestationary reading function is performed, the image sensor 7 isconfigured to read an image through the first reading window 3B whilemoving along the supporting surface 3A. The image reading apparatus 1 isconfigured to read an image of a document via the image sensor 7 byconverting the image such as letters into electrical signal.

In the embodiment, a contact image sensor, CIS, is used as the imagesensor 7. The CIS extends under the supporting surface 3A in a directionperpendicular to a moving direction where the CIS moves.

The image sensor 7 is attached to the document table 3 such that it ismovable in a direction of the length of the supporting surface 3A. Amoving mechanism 9 is configured to cause the image sensor 7 to movebetween a first position set at one end in the moving direction of theimage sensor 7 and a second position set at the other end in the movingdirection of the image sensor 7.

In the embodiment, the direction of the length of the supporting surface3A corresponds to a left-right direction of the image reading apparatus1. The first position is on the left end in the moving direction of theimage sensor 7. The second position is on the right end in the movingdirection.

When the document feeder reading function is performed, the image sensor7 is stopped under a second reading window 3C to read an image of thedocument being fed to the second reading window 3C. When the stationarydocument reading function is performed, the image sensor 7 is configuredto move under the supporting surface 3A to read an image of the documentsupported on the supporting surface 3A.

The second reading window 3C is closed by a transparent platen made ofsuch as a clear glass as is the case with the first reading window orthe supporting surface 3A. The supporting surface 3A and the secondreading window 3C are partitioned by a beam 3D. The document cover 5includes a second document presser 5E. The second document presser 5Efaces the second reading window 3C when the document cover 5 covers thedocument table 3.

As shown in FIG. 3, the document cover 5 includes a feeding mechanism 60to which the disclosure applies. The feeding mechanism 60 is an exampleof an automatic document feeder configured to feed a document to thesecond reading window 3C when the document feeder reading function isperformed.

In the embodiment, the moving mechanism 9 and the feeding mechanism 60are driven by one drive source such as an electric motor. That is, atransmission mechanism transmits a drive force generated by the drivesource selectively to the moving mechanism 9 or the feeding mechanism60. The transmission mechanism and the drive source, which are notshown, are disposed under the supporting surface 3A of the documenttable 3.

The feeding mechanism 60 includes a first tray 71, a second tray 72, anda feeding portion 61. The first tray 71 corresponds to a document tray,and the second tray 72 corresponds to an ejection tray.

The feeding portion 61 is configured to feed documents one by one fromthe first tray 71 toward the second reading window 3C and tosequentially eject the documents to the second tray 72.

The feeding portion 61 is disposed downstream from the first tray 71 ina feed direction where a document is fed. The first tray 71 is adjacentto an inlet of the feeding portion 61. The second tray 72 is adjacent toan outlet of the feeding portion 61.

The feeding portion 61 includes a pickup roller 61A, a separation roller61B, a separation pad (not shown) disposed on the separation roller 61B,a feed roller 63, and an ejection roller 61C. The pickup roller 61A isconfigured to pick a few documents from a stack of documents supportedin the first tray 71 and feed the documents toward the separation roller61B.

The separation roller 61B and the separation pad are configured tooperate together to separate individual documents sequentially from alowermost document of the documents lying on top of each other and feeda document at a time toward the second reading window 3C. The feedroller 63 is configured to rotate in contact with the document passingthe second reading window 3C.

The feed direction of the document, which receives a feeding force fromthe feed roller 63, is turned around at a guide member 65, and thedocument is fed toward the second tray 72 by the ejection roller 61C. Afollowing document fed from the first tray 71 is supported in the secondtray 72 under a preceding document already supported in the second tray72. The guide member 65 is configured to guide a document being fed andconstitutes a feed chute defining a feed path 65A in which a document isfed.

A pinch roller 63A is disposed facing the feed roller 63. The pinchroller 63A is configured to press the document being fed toward the feedroller 63. The pinch roller 63A is supported such that it is movable ina direction close to or apart from the feed roller 63. The directionclose to or apart from the feed roller 63 corresponds to a directionsubstantially parallel to a direction perpendicular to both an axis ofthe feed roller 63 and an axis of the pinch roller 63A.

The first tray 71 and the second tray 72 are configured to receivesheets, e.g. documents. As shown in FIG. 4, the second tray 72 isdisposed above the first tray 71 via a space of a specified dimension.The specified dimension is determined based on the maximum number ofsheets to be supported in the first tray 71.

As shown in FIG. 5, the second tray 72 has a first tray portion 72A anda second tray portion 72B. The first tray portion 72A is disposed at oneend in a width direction. The second tray portion 72B is spaced apartfrom the first tray portion 72A and disposed at the other end in thewidth direction.

In other words, there is a space between the first tray portion 72A andthe second tray portion 72B. Thus, a central portion of the first tray71 in the width direction is not covered by the second tray 72 on a sideclose to the feeding portion 61. In the following description, thesecond tray 72 refers to the first tray portion 72A and the second trayportion 72B collectively unless otherwise specified.

The width direction corresponds to a direction perpendicular to both thefeed direction and a thickness of a sheet supported in the first tray71. In the embodiment, the width direction is corresponds to afront-rear direction of the document table 3. In the embodiment, one endof an object in the width direction refers to a rear end portion of theobjection and the other end of the object in the width direction refersto a front end portion of the object.

As shown in FIG. 4, a dimension L2 of a portion, parallel to the feeddirection, of the second tray 72 is less than a dimension L1 of aportion, parallel to the feed direction, of the first tray 71.

The first tray 71 has a first end E1 on a side far from the feedingportion 61, and the second tray 72 has a second end E2 on the side farfrom the feeding portion 61. The second end E2 is disposed closer to thefeeding portion 61 than the first end E1.

As shown in FIG. 6, the first tray 71 smoothly continues from the inletof the feeding portion 61 to the first end E1, and inclines upwardlytoward the first end E1. The first end E1 is higher than the second endE2. The second tray 72 smoothly continues from the inlet of the feedingportion 61 to the second end E2 and inclines upwardly toward the secondend E2.

As shown in FIG. 4, a first wall portion 73 is disposed at one end ofthe second tray 72 in the width direction. The first wall portion 73 isfixed relative to the first tray 71 and has a wall surface 73B. An upperend 73A of the wall surface 73B is higher than the second tray 72.

As shown in FIG. 8, the wall surface 73B is substantially parallel to adirection perpendicular to supporting surfaces 72C of the second tray 72or substantially parallel to a vertical direction. The first trayportion 72A of the second tray 72 and the first wall portion 73 areintegrally formed or molded of resin.

As shown in FIG. 6, the wall surface 73B of the first wall portion 73 isflat and extends from the second end E2 to the first end E1. The wallsurface 73B extends from the side closer to the feeding potion 61 atleast to a first position P1.

The first position P1 refers to a portion of the first tray 71, which islevel with the second end E2. The wall surface 73B extends beyond thefirst position P1 to the first end E1.

As shown in FIG. 4, the upper end 73A of the first wall portion 73connects to an upper end face 75A of an upper surface cover 75. Theupper end face 75A is substantially perpendicular to the wall surface73B. The upper end face 75A is level with a covering surface 60B of acover 60A. The cover 60A is configured to cover an upper portion of thefeeding potion 61. In other words, the covering surface 60B is flushwith the upper surface cover 75. In the embodiment, the upper surfacecover 75 and the first wall portion 73 are integrally formed or moldedof resin.

As shown in FIG. 7, a first guide portion 77 is disposed at the otherend of the first tray 71 in the width direction, that is, on a frontside of the first tray 71. The first guide portion 77 is movable in thewidth direction with respect to the first tray 71 and configured tocontact the other end of a sheet to be supported in the first tray 71 inthe width direction to prevent skewing of the sheet by.

As shown in FIG. 8, the second tray portion 72B and a second guideportion 79 are disposed on top of the first guide portion 77. The secondguide portion 79 is configured to contact the other end of a sheet to besupported in the second tray 72 in the width direction to preventskewing of the sheet. An upper end of the second guide portion 79 issubstantially flush with the upper end 73A.

The first guide portion 77, the second tray portion 72B, and the secondguide portion 79 are integrally formed or molded. The second trayportion 72B and the second guide portion 79 are configured to movetogether with the first guide portion 77. In the embodiment, the firstguide portion 77, the second tray portion 72B, and the second guideportion 79 are integrally formed or molded of resin.

There is a space 80A between the second guide portion 79 and afront-face panel 80. A user can put his or her fingers in the space 80Ato move the second tray portion 72B. In other words, a wall portionconstituting the second guide portion 79 can function as a member tohold the second tray portion 72B.

The second guide portion 79 is located outward from the first guideportion 77 in the width direction. In other words, the first guideportion 77 disposed in the first tray 71 as the document tray is locatedcloser to a center in the width direction than the second guide portion79 of the second tray 72 as the ejection tray. A dimension W2 from thecenter in the width direction to the second guide portion 79 is greaterthan a dimension W1 from the center in the width direction to the firstguide portion 77.

As shown in FIG. 4, a third guide portion 81 is disposed at one end ofthe first tray 71 in the width direction or on a same side as the firstwall portion 73. The third guide portion 81 is fixed relative to thefirst tray 71. The third guide portion 81 is a wall surfacesubstantially parallel to the vertical direction and configured tocontact one end of a sheet to be supported in the first tray 71 in thewidth direction to prevent skewing of the sheet.

The third guide portion 81 extends at least beyond the second end E2toward the first end E1 along a direction parallel to the feed directionof a sheet to be supported in the first tray 71. In the embodiment, thethird guide portion 81 also extends toward a side closer to the feedingportion 61 than the second end E2.

The third guide portion 81 extends from the inlet of the feeding portion61 beyond the second end E2 toward the first end E1. Third guide portion81 is integrally formed or molded of resin with the first tray 71.

The third guide portion 81 is disposed on a side closer to a center inthe width direction than the first wall portion 73. As shown in FIG. 8,the first wall portion 73 is located outward from the third guideportion 81 in the width direction. In other words, the third guideportion 81 of the first tray 71 as the document tray is located closerto the center in the width direction than the first wall portion 73 ofthe second tray 72 as the ejection tray.

A dimension W4 from the center in the width direction to the first wallportion 73 is greater than a dimension W3 from the center in the widthdirection to the third guide portion 81. Thus, in the embodiment, awidth dimension of the second tray 72 as the ejection tray, (which isequivalent to the total of the dimension W2 and the dimension W4) isgreater than a width dimension of the first tray 71 as the documenttray, (which is equivalent to the total of the dimension W1 and thedimension W3).

The wall surface 73B of the first wall portion 73 and the supportingsurface 72C of the second tray 72 continue without any space. Meaning of“continue without any space” includes a case where there is such aslight space that a sheet cannot be caught in, in addition to a casewhere there is no space literally. The first wall portion 73 and thesecond tray 72 may not be formed integrally.

As shown in FIG. 7, a second wall portion 71B is disposed at an end 71Aof the first tray 71, which is on the same side as the first guideportion 77 or the second tray portion 72B. The second wall portion 71Bis disposed at a position shifted in the feed direction from the firstguide portion 77 toward the first end E1 and closer to the center in thewidth direction than the end 71A.

The second wall portion 71B is an end face of a protruding portion 71C,which protrudes from the end 71A toward the center in the widthdirection and is parallel to the third guide portion 81. The protrudingportion 71C is lower than the second end E2. The protruding portion 71Cand the end 71A are integrally formed or molded of resin with the uppersurface cover 75.

The first wall portion 73, the second wall portion 71B, the first guideportion 77, the second guide portion 79 and the third guide portion 81are parallel to each other. The first guide portion 77 and the secondguide portion 79 are configured to move in the width direction togetherwith the second tray portion 72B while maintaining the parallelrelationship.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, wires 83 are routed on a side of the firstwall portion 73 opposite from the first tray 71 in the width direction,or on a rear side from the first wall portion 73. The wires 83 arerouted in a space covered by the first wall portion 73 and the uppersurface cover 75.

The wires 83 are configured to transmit, to a control part (not shown),electrical signals emitted from a sensor detecting whether a sheet issupported in the first tray 71. The control part is configured tocontrol operations of the drive source, such as normal rotation, reverserotation and stop.

The control part is constituted by a microcomputer including a CPU, aROM, and a RAM. Programs and parameter constants necessary to controlthe operations of the drive source are stored in a non-volatile memorysuch as the ROM. The CPU reads a program from the non-volatile memory,causing the control part to function.

In the embodiment, the upper end 73A of the first wall portion 73 ishigher than the second tray 72 and extends from the second end E2 to thefirst end E1. Thus, the first wall portion 73 can function as a guidemember configured to prevent skewing of a sheet supported in the secondtray 72.

In the embodiment, the first tray 71 inclines upwardly toward the firstend E1. The first wall portion 73 extends at least from the second endE2 toward the first position P1.

With this structure, the user can place sheets easily on the first tray71, which is used as the document tray in the embodiment. Even when thefirst tray 71 is used as an ejection tray, the user can remove ejectedsheets easily.

In the embodiment, the first guide portion 77 movable in the widthdirection with respect to the first tray 71 and at least a portion ofthe second tray 72 located on top of the first guide portion 77 areintegrally formed or molded.

With this structure, different sized sheets can be fed while skewing ofthe sheets is prevented.

Generally, sheets ejected from the feeding portion 61 may be greatlyskewed compared with the sheets fed to the feeding portion 61.

In the embodiment, the second guide portion 79 provided on the secondtray 72 as the ejection tray is located, in the width direction, outwardfrom the first guide portion 77 disposed in the first tray 71 as thedocument tray.

With this structure, even when a sheet ejected from the feeding portion61 is greatly skewed, the sheet contacts the second guide portion 79,improper sheet feeding can be reliably prevented, and the skew of thesheet can be prevented.

In the embodiment, the second wall portion 71B is disposed in theposition shifted from the first guide portion 77 toward the first end E1in the feed direction and protrudes toward the center in the widthdirection from the end 71A on the same side of the first tray 71 as thefirst guide portion 77.

Thus, the first guide portion 77 and the second wall portion 71B operatetogether to prevent skew of a sheet. With this structure, the skew of asheet can be prevented even when the first guide portion 77 is shorterin the feed direction than the sheet.

In the embodiment, the third guide portion 81 is fixed relative to thefirst tray 71 and disposed closer to the center in the width directionthan the first wall portion 73.

Thus, the third guide portion 81 can prevent a skew of a sheet to besupported in the first tray 71. As the sheet contacts the first wallportion 73, improper sheet feeding can be reliably prevented.

In the embodiment, the third guide portion 81 extends at least beyondthe second end E2 toward the first end E1 along the direction parallelto the feed direction of a sheet to be supported in the first tray 71.

Thus, the sheet supported in the first tray 71 contacts the first wallportion 73 and thus improper sheet feeding can be reliably prevented.

In the embodiment, the wall surface 73B of the first wall portion 73 andthe supporting surface 72C of the second tray 72 continue without anyspace. Thus, improper sheet feeding can be reliably prevented.

In the embodiment, the second tray 72 includes the first tray portion72A, which is disposed at one end in the width direction, and the secondtray portion 72B, which is disposed at the other end in the widthdirection and spaced apart from the first tray portion 72A.

Thus, the central portion of the first tray 71 in the width direction isnot covered by the second tray 72. The user can visually check whether asheet is supported in the first tray 71 with relative ease.

In the embodiment, the wall surface 73B of the first wall portion 73 isflat and extends from the second end E2 to the first end E1. Thus,skewing of a sheet supported in the second tray 72 can be reliablyprevented.

In the embodiment, the covering surface 60B of the cover 60A coveringthe upper portion of the feeding portion 61 is level with the upper endface 75A connecting to the upper end of the first wall portion 73.

Thus, the covering surface 60B is flush with the upper end face 75A. Inother words, an upper surface of the sheet feeding apparatus is flat.Furthermore, need to increase the vertical dimension of the sheetfeeding apparatus can be obviated.

In the embodiment, the wires 83 are routed on the side of the first wallportion 73 opposite from the first tray 71 in the width direction. Thus,the need to newly provide a space exclusively for the wires 83 can beobviated.

In the embodiment, at least a portion of the second tray 72 disposedabove the first tray 71 is integrally formed or molded with the firstwall portion 73. Thus, the stiffness of the second tray can beincreased.

In the embodiment, at least a portion of the upper end 73A of the firstwall portion 73, which is integrally formed or molded with at least aportion of the second tray 72, e.g., the first tray portion 72A, ishigher than the second tray 72.

This structure allows the first wall portion 73 to function as a guidemember configured to prevent skewing of a sheet supported in the secondtray 72.

In the embodiment, the first guide portion 77 is integrally formed ormolded with the second tray portion 72B such that the first guideportion 77 is located below the second tray portion 72B. Thus, differentsized sheets can be fed.

The embodiment shows, but is not limited to that sheets are fed from thefirst tray 71 to the second tray 72. Sheets may be fed from the secondtray 72 to the first tray 71.

The embodiment shows, but is not limited to that the first wall portion73 extends to the first end E1. It may be sufficient for the first wallportion 73 to extend at least from the second end E2 to the firstposition P1.

The embodiment shows, but is not limited to that the first guide portion77 is integrally formed or molded with the second tray 72. The firstguide portion 77 may be omitted and the second wall portion 71B may beconfigured to guide sheets being fed.

The embodiment shows, but is not limited to that the second guideportion 79 is located outward from the first guide portion 77 in thewidth direction. The first guide portion 77 and the second guide portion79 may be located at the same position in the width direction. It ispreferable that the first guide portion 77 be located outward from thesecond guide portion 79 in the width direction especially when sheetsare fed from the second tray 72 to the first tray 71.

The embodiment shows, but is not limited to that the second wall portion71B is provided. The second wall portion 71B may be omitted and thefirst guide portion 77 may extend toward the first end E1.

The embodiment shows, but is not limited to that the third guide portion81 fixed relative to the first tray 71 is disposed closer to the centerin the width direction than the first wall portion 73.

The third guide portion 81 may be omitted and the first wall portion 73may be used as the third guide portion 81. In other words, the widthdimension of the second tray 72 (equivalent to the total of thedimensions W2 and W4) may be set as the same dimension as the first tray71 (equivalent to the total of the dimensions W1 and W3).

The embodiment shows, but is not limited to that the third guide portion81 extends from the inlet of the feeding portion 61 beyond the secondend E2 toward the first end E1. The third guide portion 81 may extend atleast beyond the second end E2 toward the first end E1.

The embodiment shows, but is not limited to that the wall surface 73B ofthe first wall portion 73 and the supporting surface 72C of the secondtray 72 continue without any space therebetween.

The embodiment shows, but is not limited to that the second tray 72includes the first tray portion 72A and the second tray portion 72B. Thesecond tray 72 may be configured without any space in the centralportion in the width direction.

The embodiment shows, but is not limited to that the wall surface 73B ofthe first wall portion 73 is flat and extends from the second E2 to thefirst end E1. The wall surface 73B may be a curved surface such that thewidth of the first tray 71 increases toward the first end E1.

The embodiment shows, but is not limited to that the covering surface60B is level with the upper end face 75A continuing to the upper end 73Aof the first wall portion 73. There may be a level difference betweenthe covering surface 60B and the upper end face 75A.

The embodiment shows, but is not limited to that the wires 83 are routedon the side of the first wall portion 73 opposite from the first tray 71in the width direction. The wires may be routed on a side of the end 71Aopposite from the first tray 71 in the width direction.

The embodiment shows, but is not limited to that the image formingportion 50 is of electrophographic type. The image forming portion maybe of inkjet type.

The embodiment shows, but is not limited to the image forming apparatus100 including the image reading apparatus 1 and the image formingportion 50. The disclosure can apply to the image reading apparatusonly.

The embodiment shows, but is not limited to the automatic documentfeeder used in the image reading apparatus 1. The disclosure can applyto a sheet feeding device configured to feed a sheet to the imageforming portion 50.

While the features herein have been described in connection with variousexample structures and illustrative aspects, it will be understood bythose skilled in the art that other variations and modifications of thestructures and aspects described above may be made without departingfrom the scope of the inventions described herein. Other structures andaspects will be apparent to those skilled in the art from aconsideration of the specification or practice of the features disclosedherein. It is intended that the specification and the described examplesonly are illustrative with the true scope of the inventions beingdefined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A sheet feeding apparatus comprising: a firsttray configured to receive a stack of sheets; a second tray disposedabove the first tray and configured to receive a stack of sheets; afeeding portion configured to feed a sheet supported in the first trayto the second tray in a feed direction; and a first wall portiondisposed at one end of the second tray in a width directionperpendicular to the feed direction and fixed relative to the firsttray, wherein the first tray has a first end on a side far from thefeeding portion, wherein the second tray has a second end on the sidefar from the feeding portion, wherein the second end of the second trayis located closer to the feeding portion than the first end of the firsttray, wherein the first end of the first tray is located above thesecond end of the second tray, and wherein an upper end of the firstwall portion is higher than the second tray, and extends from a sidecloser to the second end of the second tray toward the first end of thefirst tray.
 2. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, whereinthe first tray inclines upwardly toward the first end, wherein a surfaceof the first tray has, on a side closer to the first end, a portion at asame height as the second end of the second tray, and wherein the firstwall portion extends at least from the second end of the second tray tothe portion of the surface of the first tray.
 3. The sheet feedingapparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a first guide portionconfigured to contact an end of a sheet supported in the first tray inthe width direction to prevent skewing of the sheet, the first guideportion being configured to move in the width direction with respect tothe first tray, and wherein an upper portion of the first guide portionis integrally formed with at least a portion of the second tray.
 4. Thesheet feeding apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising asecond guide portion configured to contact an end of a sheet supportedin the second tray in the width direction to prevent skewing of thesheet, the second guide portion being configured to move integrally withthe first guide portion, wherein the second guide portion is locatedoutward in the width direction from the first guide portion.
 5. Thesheet feeding apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising asecond wall portion disposed at a position shifted from the first guideportion toward the first end, the second wall portion being disposedcloser to the center in the width direction than an end of the firsttray at which the first guide portion is disposed.
 6. The sheet feedingapparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a third guide portionfixed relative to the first tray on a same side as the first wallportion and configured to contact an end of a sheet supported in thefirst tray in the width direction to prevent skewing of the sheet,wherein the third guide portion is disposed closer to a center in thewidth direction than the first wall portion.
 7. The sheet feedingapparatus according to claim 6, wherein the third guide portion extendsbeyond the second end of the second tray toward the first end of thefirst tray along a direction parallel to the feed direction.
 8. Thesheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a wall surface ofthe first wall portion and a supporting surface of the second traycontinue without any space.
 9. The sheet feeding apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the second tray includes a first tray portion disposedat the one end in the width direction and a second tray portion disposedat the other end in the width direction.
 10. The sheet feeding apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein a wall surface of the first wall portionis flat and extends at least from the second end of the second tray tothe first end of the first tray.
 11. The sheet feeding apparatusaccording to claim 1, further comprising a cover covering an upperportion of the feeding portion, wherein a covering surface of the coveris level with an upper end face connecting to the upper end of the firstwall portion.
 12. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1wherein a wire is routed on an opposite side of the first wall portionfrom the first tray in the width direction.
 13. The sheet feedingapparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an image sensorconfigured to read an image of the sheet, wherein the feeding portion isconfigured to feed the sheet to the image sensor.
 14. A sheet feedingapparatus comprising: a first tray configured to receive a stack ofsheets; a second tray disposed above the first tray and configured toreceive a stack of sheets; a feeding portion configured to feed a sheetbetween the first tray and the second tray in a feed direction; and afirst wall portion disposed at one end of the second tray in a widthdirection perpendicular to the feed direction and fixed relative to thefirst tray, wherein the first tray has a first end on a side far fromthe feeding portion, wherein the second tray has a second end on theside far from the feeding portion, wherein the second end of the secondtray is located closer to the feeding portion than the first end of thefirst tray, wherein the first end of the first tray is located above thesecond end of the second tray, and wherein an upper end of the firstwall portion is higher than the second tray, and extends from a sidecloser to the second end of the second tray toward the first end of thefirst tray.
 15. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 14,wherein the first tray inclines upwardly toward the first end, wherein asurface of the first tray has, on a side closer to the first end, aportion at a same height as the second end of the second tray, andwherein the first wall portion extends at least from the second end ofthe second tray to the portion of the surface of the first tray.
 16. Thesheet feeding apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising afirst guide portion configured to contact an end of a sheet supported inthe first tray in the width direction to prevent skewing of the sheet,the first guide portion being configured to move in the width directionwith respect to the first tray, and wherein an upper portion of thefirst guide portion is integrally formed with at least a portion of thesecond tray.
 17. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 16,further comprising a second wall portion disposed at a position shiftedfrom the first guide portion toward the first end, the second wallportion being disposed closer to the center in the width direction thanan end of the first tray at which the first guide portion is disposed.18. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 14, furthercomprising an image sensor configured to read an image of the sheet,wherein the feeding portion is configured to feed the sheet to the imagesensor.